When my flat was being renovated, the contractor asked if I wanted ceiling fans. I said no. In all honesty, I never did see them as a necessity. Until now, that is. This heatwave we're experiencing has brought new meaning to the word 'tolerance'. For me, at least.
In my experience if you're feeling warm, a ceiling fan doesn't do much good. However, it circulates the air in the general area and some wind is better than NO wind. Right? I figured I'd start scouting around for ceiling fans and see if I couldn't find something in my budget (read:cheap) for the living room.
I eventually ended up at Endura Trading (298 Changi Road Singapore 419776 Contact : 63461856) and bought me a Fanco acrylic 3-blade fan. Black in colour. And quite pleasing to the eye. Cost me $120. That's half of what some other stores had quoted me for their fancy 5-blade aluminium ones.
The guy said it was going to cost me $40 to install. Great deal! My own electrician charges $45. What a steal right?
After all the drilling and mess when my new fan was happily whirring away, the guy then said my bill came up to $80. Cos it's $40 to install the fan, and another $40 for workmanship. Er... hang on, doesn't "installing the fan" INCLUDE workmanship? Isn't that what the installation cost was for? When I refused to fork out the cash and told him that the guy in the shop quoted me $40 he said that that was EXCLUDING casing and wires. I mean, excuse me, but what use is installing an appliance if you're not going to feed it with some juice to run? And it's not like the guy thought I already had an old fan that just needed removing and a new one hung up. I explained in detail what kind of work was needed.
MySO was with me during this entire fiasco so he handled the shop fella (on the fone) while I explained to the electrician that we were given a different quotation. My point is, if I explained everything and you then gave me a figure, then I expect that figure to be honoured.
I wasn't trying to be especially difficult or anything, and I'm all for paying a just wage. But this was ridiculous. The excuses came fast and furious. Oh, you don't have an existing power point (yes, I told Steve at the shop) and I have to use extra trunking and wires (which don't cost $40 thank you very much) and I have to "steal" the electricity from another socket (er, yeah, that's what I meant when I said I don't have an existing point and you had to take from another source - and I even described the position of that source) and the best one yet - no electrician will charge so cheap you know? Since when was that a valid reason to charge me double what I was told I had to pay?
MySO did the thing we both learnt to do in our advanced years - "You said it was $40. We gave you all the info, and you still said, yes, it's $40. Now the guy says I have to pay $80. SO HOW?"
The best thing about this is that you then make it the other guy's problem. Which we did. He acquiesced and finally we only paid $40. Steve at the shop said he would settle the shortfall with the electrician himself. How he does it isn't my problem.
It took a while - all that back and forth passing the fone from MySO to electrician and back again, with me in between here and there... and only because we didn't back down did Steve agree to take the responsibility for the other $40. But this reinforces a theory I have - contractors and handymen tend to take advantage of the fact that we're women to try and get away with as much as they can. They cook up some story, or they drag in ridiculous explanations for why it costs more and I think when there's a guy in the house they're less likely to push too hard.
It doesn't hurt that MySO isn't what you might call small-built and is, himself, a handyman of sorts. In a battle of mechanical knowledge he can definitely hold his own. Ah, woe is the contractor who comes to this char-bo's house. I'll make sure the tar-po is around to see to it I'm not taken for a ride!
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